Summer Randomness....

I cant believe summer is halfway over! It feels like it is just getting started here in Utah thanks to our wet weather and lower temps. Truly the temperatures have been wonderful, I am not complaining, but time just wont stand still and I am really perturbed about how winter seems to draaaag on and on but summer flies on by. Oh well. One thing that has been great about the slow start to summer has been the really cool summer storms. I have been obsessed lately with the clouds. We have had amazing sunsets because of them.

The sky cant decide what it wants to "wear" so we get an eclectic mix of blue sky, white puffy clouds, thin wispy clouds, and dark menacing clouds....all at the same time. Love it.

Another fun thing that has been popping up lately is Addison's sudden desire for domesticity. She has been a wonderful helper lately, setting the table for meals (she even takes my candle and flower from the piano and puts it in the middle of the table....)

and also doing the dishes. She is obsessed with washing the dishes. I often find her standing on the chair with the dish towel tossed over her shoulder...which is an important detail you know....scrubbing away. So cute. Im pretty sure it wont last once I start asking her to do it for real ;)

I wish I could say we have a bunch of fun stuff planned for the rest of the summer but unfortunately I am scheduled to have surgery on August 3rd which will render me semi-useless for at least a few weeks and then school starts for everyone again. I am going to try to take the kids to the Sundance Musical Theater production of The Sound of Music though....it will depend on how I feel of course. In the meantime, we are just enjoying what time we have left. Hope you are too!

Saturday Madness....and other random things.

I can't believe it is the end of the week already...I swear it just began. Life is moving so quickly that it is just becoming a big blur. I look forward to the time when it slows down just a bit so I can feel like I am enjoying it the way I should be. So, to recap the week...another group of random iPhone pics. First out of the phone is a picture of my new glasses. Never mind the weird look on my face (it's hard taking pictures of yourself) but I love my new glasses.

Especially since they were free. Well, almost. Facebook had a company offering to give away 5000 free glasses a while back and so I got my code and was all prepared to logon the next day and purchase them. Problem was, I forgot I was going to be at a friends house during that timeframe and consequently forgot to order them. I was a little disappointed because who couldnt use free glasses? Well last week, they made the offer again! I jumped on it and chose my frames (normally $170) and then chose to pay $25 for thinner lenses because my prescription is so strong that they would look like coke bottle glasses if I were to get the cheap plastic lenses. So, with shipping and my thinner lenses I only paid $32 for $200 glasses!! That price makes them look even better on me!

Next up is a picture of my Evan sporting his new haircut. Doesn't he look so handsome?

I know I am biased but really....he is just a good looking kid! His class was performing their opera today at the Rose Wagner Theater downtown so I wanted him to look spiffier than usual. Addie got her hair cut too but you really couldn't tell in the picture so I didn't post it.

Here is a picture of the 3 kids after Evans performance was finished. We had fun even though it has snowed for 2 days straight. Thankfully it isn't sticking to the ground...it is just a big nuisance to be out in. It felt like December today!

After Evan's show, I dropped him off at a birthday party and then headed over to Old Navy with Addison so she could pick out a birthday dress. She is turning 5 next week, although she acts like she is turning 16. She is a nut. Trying on clothes with her is the most entertaining experience ever. DIVA is the only word that comes to mind. Check her out in her new dress...and don't forget to notice the fedora that she absolutely had to have! She hasn't taken that darn hat off since we got home tonight....and I promise that I do not teach her to behave this way in front of the camera. I am clueless as to where she is learning it. One thing is for certain, Addie is infatuated with herself. I doubt there are any cracks in her self esteem and that makes me so happy no matter how nutty it makes her sometimes :)

We got up at 8am today and were out of the house by 9am. I had errands to run for the kids' birthday's next week as well as grocery shopping. I got all of that done by 2:30 and then dropped Evan off at the theater for his dress rehearsal. Ran home for one hour and then turned around and went back to the theater for the performance. Dropped Evan off at the party and went to Old Navy which took 2 hours and then I went and picked Evan up from the party. We finally got home at 9:30pm!! I was only home for one little hour today! We are all exhausted...so much for a restful weekend. Here is proof of our tiresome day...this is about 15 minutes after we got home. I realized I hadn't heard from her since she modeled her clothes for her brothers and this is where I found her. On the floor...almost under my desk. Poor thing.

Random iPhone Pictures...

One of the things I love the most about my new iPhone is the camera. It really does take awesome pictures for a phone. Since I always carry my phone with me it proves to be very convenient at capturing life as I go along and it's much less cumbersome than my full size camera. Anyway...here are the most recent random shots I found on my phone when I plugged it in to charge tonight....

1. The past 3 days have been 65-70 degrees here in Salt Lake City but alas...this is what we woke up to this morning. Gotta love Spring in Utah....

2. This is pretty random but I have discovered the most amazing chips. I think whoever thought of this flavor is nothing short of a genius. I sure hope Lay's keeps making these puppies... YUM! (it's Tomato & Basil if you weren't sure what the bag says...go get some!)

3. I am told this is one of my children but I just don't see how it's possible that he grew up and I missed it... Last time I checked, he was only 4 years old.

4. Here is another one of my offspring. She dressed herself on this morning and was pretty proud of her ensemble...if you couldn't tell. She is a nut and I love her.

That's all for today's random shots....Im sure there will be more because I am addicted to my phone :)

MIA...

I feel like I have really neglected my blogging recently, probably because I have! I always have good intentions but life just has a way of taking over sometimes. Truthfully, there haven't been too many big events to post about so for now I will just give a little update and be done with it.

ME:

Spring break officially started for me after my last class on Thursday. I have really been looking forward to it because this has been a difficult semester. When this semester is over in May, I will have 11 classes left until graduation. Sounds like a lot still but I am seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. I cant imagine what it will be like to go to bed at night (at a decent hour) and not lay there fretting over what homework I may have forgotten to do. I have had some really great leads for work come about in the past few weeks too. This is super exciting because I decided that I just really don't want to teach. I want to work in publishing/editing/writing somehow. This is looking like more of a possibility now that I have been talking to a few people. I am feeling very encouraged at the prospects awaiting me after I graduate! But, this is it for updates on me....school is my life right now. I just registered for Summer classes. I wish I could take a break but I need to get this over with! I am singing in my choir still although I think I may have to drop out this time. I missed a rehearsal already and will be missing another one next Sunday as we will be in Reno visiting my parents.

IAN:

Well Ian is growing up so fast! He is 10 going on 16 and it drives me a little nuts sometimes. He reminds me so much of myself when I was that age. He takes Spanish lessons twice a week after school. He also takes piano lessons and violin lessons through his school music program. I love that he is so exposed to music. Of course he is singing in the children's choir as well and is very enthusiastic about it. Every week he announces a new solo that he wants to try out for. I have had to rein him in a little here and advise him to at least practice the solo part before he auditions! But I am excited that he is really jumping in to this experience. Soccer starts in April...which I am dreading...but now that he has orthotics in his shoes, he likes running more since his feet dont hurt. I am hoping this makes for a more positive soccer experience than

usual.

EVAN:

Evan is about to turn 9 in April. It is just so hard to believe. Time simply will not stand still. Evan takes Chinese lessons twice a week at school. I have no idea how this is going as the teacher does not communicate with the parents and Evan will not say anything about the class to me. I have tried to get him to speak some Chinese to me but he is tight lipped about it. I can only hope that he is learning something. Exposure to languages cannot hurt in any way, shape, or form so I am happy that at the very least he is being exposed. He is also singing in the choir and enjoys it although not quite as exuberantly as his brother. I mentioned in a previous post about the composer Masa Fukuda that Evan's class got to work with. Well, he kept our name and number for times when he needs kids for various projects. He actually called us last night and asked if he could come to our home and work with Evan. He wants to listen to Evan sing alone to determine if Evan has a pop voice or a classical voice. Evan is beyond excited about this. I guess Masa has a couple of projects coming up that he wants to consider Evan for but needs to determine which one would be best for him. Again, I couldn't be more thrilled with the sudden music explosion happening in our house. I love sports for the boys too, but a well rounded man is much better than a sports fanatic (sorry guys!)... Evan also starts soccer next month and he is very happy about it. He loves soccer and all the friends he has made on his team.

ADDISON:

Well, this little girl of mine is turning 5 next month. Again...where has the time gone. 5 is a hard age to swallow because it feels like the end of "baby/toddler" days. She is my last baby and so I have hard time accepting this. In fact, I completely blew off the fact that she starts kindergarten this coming school year and missed an important registration deadline because of it! Im just in denial that we are here already. She has big plans for her 5th birthday party although the plans change every single day. I think we will just have to have a "variety" birthday with Barbies, Princesses, Fairy's, Hello Kitty, and yes...Justin Bieber. She is so prissy and I cant get enough of her.

DENVER:

He is still working in South Carolina. When his year is up in July however, he will hopefully be coming back this way. He misses the kids and they miss him. He is in his LAST class at the University of Phoenix and will finally have a bachelors degree in Business Management in April. This is a big accomplishment for him and will hopefully help him secure a better job out here. In the meantime, he may be working in San Antonio Texas temporarily for Boeing...this will be nice because they will fly him home every 3 weeks. He was just here for a visit this past weekend for his 40th birthday. Everyone had a great time and were sad to see him leave, but he will be back in 3 weeks for the kids birthdays in April. I cant believe I didn't take a single picture of him with the kids. Im really getting bad with the picture taking. I need a new camera to motivate me! I did take this picture of the ring/bracelet that he brought for Addison. She was on cloud nine. She has been asking for a ring for months now....she is such a Daddy's girl.

Like I said, no major news or happenings. Just life moving along at mach 40... Ugh, there's that number again. I'm not looking forward to becoming a 40 year old in September. Oh well...nothing I can do about it I guess but make the best of it!!

What a Week...

This was one of those weeks that goes into the books as 'most stressful week ever'. But I survived and am actually glad tomorrow is Monday because it starts a new week. I wont even attempt to bore you with the details as I am sure you have all had similar weeks. But here is a little picture montage to give you the short version of our weekend....

First: Valentine Boxes for the boys to take to school. We had grandiose plans for elaborate boxes... but that didnt exaclty pan out so, we took the shortcut route and thankfully my boys were thrilled with their "Locker" themed boxes. I mean really, all that matters in the end is that they have a place for all the Valentine junk they will recieve tomorrow, right?

I also had the chance to babysit my nephew's last night and that is always fun. I get my baby fix this way (not that I really have one) and it's fun to play with them. The kids always have a great time. Here is some pictures of sweet little Jude. He really is just the sweetest baby!!

My wonderful neighbors offered to take my kids to church today so I could finish a presentation that I was doing for class tomorrow. It saved me really because by the time I finished, they were coming home and then we spent the afternoon doing Ian's science project and all 3 Valentine boxes. I would have never made it without those extra 3 hours this morning. The same neighbors invited us over for dinner and we had a really fun time eating and playing Scrabble Slam. I forget how much fun it is to socialize with other people, haha.

Saturday afternoon I helped my aunt and uncle clean out some of my Grandma Lloyds basement. She passed away back in August and they have sold her house. I have mixed emotions over it. It feels weird to think that I will never step foot into that house again after 39 years of it being 'my Grandparents home.' Lots of memories...I especially miss my Grandma and wish she were still here.

Finally, I will leave you with a picture of me in my new glasses...I was really looking for something a little more stylish than my normal frames. What do you think?

End of the School Year and Other Happenings....

I finished up the semester finally on Tuesday and believe me, it wasn't a moment too soon! Still waiting on the final grades but so relieved to be done for a month. The kids didn't get out of school for their break until yesterday so I had a few days completely to myself and will have another full week of bliss in January after they go back and before I start up again. I put my free time to good use finishing up Christmas shopping and running errands....not exactly the vision of bliss I had imagined (read: sleeping in, laying around and watching movies, etc) but it was nice being able to shop alone! In the middle of this the boys both had school performances for me to attend. First was Evan:

He and a partner worked on a report about the endangered Monk Seal and then their assignment was to use this fun program on the computer to create a documentary which they narrated, inserted pictures, and chose background music for. It was a fun project for them and I was excited to see it. Here is a picture of Evan with his teacher Mrs. Norton.

She is super nice and Evan really likes her. Now if only I could get him to do his homework, 3rd grade would surely be a big success!

Next was Ian's piano recital. His school is the only one in the district that has piano lessons once a week and now that he is in the 4th grade, he also has a violin lesson once a week! I love love love this music program and the fact that he is learning and I don't have to force him to practice. Here he is waiting for his turn....sitting next to Josie, who I am not allowed to tell you about; wink wink. At the very end of this post is the video of Ian's performance.....

So, now they are out of school until January 3rd and there is a lot of excitement with Christmas coming up and Denver coming to town....in fact it's all they talk about!

Unfortunately we received some really sad news this week. My mechanic, who also happens to be a pretty good acquaintance of ours passed away. It's a long story but basically we met him and his family when they moved into the first house we rented in Sugarhouse when Addison was just a few months old. We only moved around the corner so we still saw them on occasion and would take our cars to him for cheaper repair. Eventually they were baptized into the LDS church and were attending our ward as well. Jeremy had his struggles but he was always so kind to us and very fair with our car repair. We trusted him and he charged us so little compared to what we would have to spend at a regular shop. Even when he was out of work and needed the money so badly he didn't charge us much. In recent months he has fixed my poor van at least 3 times or more and was scheduled to fix one last thing next week after Christmas. He was going through some really personal trials lately including being out of a job for nearly 9 months and it was clear that he was struggling emotionally. Sadly, it got the best of him and he took his own life on Sunday. I attended his funeral on Friday. It was heartbreaking to look at his 3 children and see what they are going through. I cannot even begin to comprehend that level of sadness both on his part where the hopelessness was so intense or on his children who now have to come to terms with how their dad left them, not to mention just the fact that he is gone. It was a horrible experience. I hope I never have to experience it again. My heart is full of love for his family and I pray that they will be able to reconcile this and move forward. It has hit me much harder than I thought it would....I'm still just struggling to understand why.

But, now it's on to Christmas and a brand new year full of possibilities. I am sure thankful for whatever comes my way, good and bad, because it is a reminder that I am alive and experiencing all that God intends for me....what could be better?

Look at Me Now......

I just cant believe the luck I am having! Maybe I should play the lottery....oh wait, we dont have a lottery in Utah. Bummer. I guess I will just stick to my favorite website Fabulous Fun Finds because I have won Again! This time I won these cute personalized notecards.... they come from the estsy shop The English Pea. Very cute stuff..... The pack that I won was the "transportation" pack and it is more boy oriented so, I chose to put my nephews name on the cards. Soren, you'll have some really cute notecards to send to your friends once you get old enough to write them a note!!

Not Quite The End....and an Update....

Well, embarassingly I found out that today was not Evan's last day of school. I called his school to find out why no report cards were not sent home and was told that they would be sent home on the last day of school......Tuesday. Oops. Good thing I called the school I guess.....Evan doesnt agree with me on that. Ian is done though. He brought home his report card today and did fantastic, of course. I was thrilled to see his most recent national reading test. He is reading at a level 5.8 which translates to a fifth grader in his eighth month of school....basically he reads at a 6th grade level. Pretty good for a 2nd grader! The test also states that compared to the rest of the country, he scored higher than 98% of all 2nd graders tested. Way to go Ian! Im very very proud of him. I took this picture this morning on our way off to school thinking it would make a great "last day of school" picture... Oh well, close enough

So, what have we done this week? Well, poor Alec hasn't done much. With the boys at school all day and me home with Addison and Soren, he got a glimpse into our boring day to day life. He did finally venture out and walked down to a strip mall for lunch and to look around some stores. We took the kids out for dinner a couple of nights ago...nothing special, just BK and I took this pic of the boys.

Afterward we hung out in the backyard and watched them play basketball.... The nights have been so nice at 77 degrees.....too bad it cant stay that way!

Tonight we went to the movies again. This time though we split up....Denver and Alec went to see "Star Trek" in one theater and me and the little kids saw the movie "Up". A good time was had by all....both movies received great reviews. Although, I have to say that our movie was quite heavy and sad. I was surprised at the subject matter in the movie. The kids really didnt pick up on it as it was dealing with issues that are far off in the future for them. Aging with regret felt like the central theme throughout the entire movie with a splash of absentee parenting, death, and keeping promises. It did end on a happy note though thankfully. I did think it was a good movie....I was just a little surprised at its serious subject matter.

I am happy to report that our little garden is growing nicely. Our beans are doing fabulously as are our Roma Tomatoes.... the Bell Peppers and Yellow Tomatoes are coming up slowly but are definitely growing. The only plant we have yet to see any of are the Green Onions....time will tell I guess!

Addison went in to the doctor today for a follow-up appointment. Her surgeon/doctor was happy to report that the pathology report came back normal, so no cancerous cells.... her eye looks almost 100% better and he gave me some good instructions and some additional ointment that will help keep these chalazions from returning. Now, it's officially the weekend....hope you all enjoy yours as much as we are going to enjoy ours!

The Final Week....

Today is the first day of the last week of school for the boys. I am excited and dreading it at the same time. I really enjoy my "quiet time" during the day...if you can call it that with a 3 year old and an 18 month old running around. However, it will be nice not to have to get them up every morning and listen to the whining. Now if I can just figure out how to keep them entertained and off the TV all day long for 2 months!

We had a nice weekend. Addie has been pretty good considering how gross her eye looks. She has been extra cranky though. Friday afternoon I dropped the boys off at the dollar movie theater with Alec and they watched Paul Blart: Mall Cop....they said it was a good movie. I have my doubts but am glad they enjoyed it. It was a little weird for me leaving them in Alec's care....I can see how it would be nice having a teenager around more often though! Saturday we all went and saw the movie "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian". Cute movie. Started out slow but was pretty entertaining after that! We loved the first one so this was fun to see the second. The kids loved it of course.... Sunday after church we went to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch. We really enjoy this restaurant as it has so many good choices for the kids to eat.

I feel bad for Alec this week because the boys are gone all day and I of course have my normal day stuff going on....I fear he is going to be really bored. Too bad he cant drive yet!

Lovely Flowers....

Every year we discover a new flower in our yard that wasnt there the year before.... Here is my latest discovery. Anyone know what type of flower this is? Its so unique and all by itself too.... makes me think it drifted over from someone elses garden.

I Won!!!!....

Ok people...I never win anything. I mean it. Nothing, nada, zilch. Today was my lucky day though! Remember I mentioned that fun website with all the giveaways? Well, my name was chosen for a $150 shopping spree on a website that sells baby clothes and kids clothes! Im so excited I cant stand it. You really must go to this site and participate. It is so easy and you never know....if I can get picked, you can! Check it out for Fabulous Fun Finds!

Babies.....

Well, I'm officially in a place where baby clothes, diapers, and pregnant women no longer apply to me. I know I've been there for a while now but it really hit me the other night when I was thinking about the people I know that are having babies and I thought, "wow, I dont have a baby anymore".... my baby is 3 and has recently decided she likes her independence a little. She has discovered the outside! More on that in a minute.

So, I was on this website that does great giveways (see the link on the right) and all you have to do to have a chance to win is leave a comment on the post....almost everything up for winning is geared toward babies or pregnant women. I was laughing at myself and thinking why am I even on here....I will never need these things ever again! But, what great gifts these things would make for the people that ARE having babies....for example, my Brother-in-law Jason and his wife Amanda. They got married last August in Hawaii and are now about to have their first baby next month. It is a girl and they are naming her Meredith Noelle...... they have one daughter from Amanada's previous relationship and her name is Ashley...what a doll she is. Here are a couple of pictures. I am excited for them to have their new little one....

Then there is my cousin James and his wife April who, after 4 boys are finally having a girl....actually they are having two!! Twin girls due in about 4 months.... Alisa's 2 sisters are both having babies again. They are both having boys after having girls 2 years ago. The 3 sisters all gave birth to their first babies just months apart from each other....now 2 of them are having their second baby months apart. Im thinking Alisa and Nate will be next.... So babies babies babies for everyone.....except me :) I am in a different group now and that is OK.

Speaking of my baby, Addison has decided that playing outside is really great. So great that she will walk out the door whenever she feels like it without me knowing. It's getting a little scary. She has figured out how to unlock the child protection knobs on the doors so I am going to have to find another solution. Yesterday I found her halfway up the street in nothing but her underwear. She was looking for me, she said. I wish we had a fenced yard so I could let her play to her hearts content. She is getting so big..... She still sleeps with us and I know its time to make her sleep in her own bed but giving her up is going to be really hard. She is my baby even though she is 3 and Im not ready to completely accept that. Here she is this morning....just waking up.

I will close this post with a picture of the babies I am currently growing/nursing.....my veggies! The first sprouts have broken through the soil! Its our green beans and I couldnt be more proud....

Vacations and Visitors....

Nathan and Alisa left town on Saturday for a vacation. They were actually supposed to leave on Thursday for Cabo San Lucas, Mexico but considering the current status with the Swine Flu, switched their tickets at the last minute for the Bahamas!! A much better choice in my opinion anyway...and not as much concern about catching H1N1 or whatever they are calling it today. Mom and Dad flew in from Reno to help out on Soren duty....they are staying at Nates house with Soren and then bringing him here during the day to try and keep him on his regular schedule. So far he has been a little trooper without his mommy and daddy....I think everyone was a little nervous with how it might affect him but he is doing great! He has really taken to Grandpa who is able to comfort him back to sleep at night by whistling to him. So cute. I will post some pictures and more updates later in the week. It has been fun having mom and dad around for more than just the weekend. The kids are loving it and did not want to go to school this morning......

Today I am one step closer to being enrolled at BYU for the fall. So excited..... will update as it happens. We bought Alec's ticket to come visit this summer. He will be here from the end of May to the end of June. The kids are excited of course. I hope it is a good visit for everyone. I think thats about it for now.... I will try to post some pictures later. Have a great Monday!

Getting Closer....

Yesterday morning I went to my session with my personal trainer and when I returned an hour later, Denver and the kids were outside working on this.....

As I mentioned earlier, we are going to attempt a small raised bed garden this summer. Since we rent and cant actually tear up the yard we opted for this. The best part about our little box is that it was free! Denver found a sheet of wood in the back shed that was perfect for the measurements we needed and he even found an electric saw to cut the pieces! All we had to left to purchase was some peat moss and compost/soil to fill it up with. Here are the kids with the finished box. It looks small but once you put the grid on, it will create 9 4x4 areas that you can plant something in. The design is great because it really utilizes space a lot better than planting in rows.

We still needed to put the grid on the top, lay cardboard on the bottom to prevent weeds, and fill it with the soil however, after we returned from Home Depot yesterday with the remaining supplies the weather had taken a turn for the worse. It was freezing and raining....what a bummer. Of course the main reason for this endeavor is to grow the wonderful green beans I talked about. But, we also bought some Roma Tomato seed, Green Onion seeds, and Bell Pepper seeds. We may go back and buy Cucumbers also but they cant be planted until late May so we held off on those. If all goes well with this little experiment, we are going to make a bigger box next year and plant some other fun things. Unfortunately today the weather is worse. We actually got snow today!!! UGH! Im so disappointed because I really want to plant my beans! Tomorrow it is supposed to warm up to 56 degrees...so, we will finish the project tomorrow.

Today I had the opportunity to sing with the choir I blogged about back in November. Our choir director was speaking in a singles ward and so a bunch of us from the choir came and we sang 3 songs from our original performance. I had forgotten about it all week and never had a chance to go over the songs. I was very happy to realize that my memory hasnt totally failed me. I didnt even need the music for one of the songs. It was such a great experience to sing with them again and I cannot wait for the next signup to join this choir again!

My Green Thumb....

Okay, I have to admit that Im not much of a "gardener"....in fact, other than a plant that a boyfriend left me to take care while he spent the summer at home from BYU, I have killed just about every other plant that I have come into contact with. On our recent trip to Kentucky, I picked up some seeds for THE BEST green beans that I have ever eaten. It may sound like I am exaggerating but honestly....these really are that good. They are called White Half Runners and you cannot get them out here. I researched them to see if perhaps they could not grow in this climate and thats why you couldnt find them but I found that there is no reason they couldnt grow here. So, I am about to embark on my first official gardening experience. I have read and read about how to plant these and grow these and it seems that beans are one of the easiest and most forgiving vegetables to grow. Perfect for my first time.... Since we rent this house and cant dig up a garden in the backyard, we have opted for a "raised bed" garden. We are going to plant a tomato plant and maybe some peppers and the green beans. If it is successful, then next year we are going to expand! Thanks to my Mother-in-law, I found this website about "box gardens"

and it seems to be a pretty simple process. This guy seems to have a handle on it so I hope I can be successful too! I will let you know. By the way, if you live near me, I brought back a whole pound of these seeds and dont need all of them so if you want to try growing some really yummy beans, stop by and pick some up! I mean it when I say you have never had a green bean that is so flavorful. I could eat them with some potatoes and nothing else.....yum!

For You Star Wars Fans.....

I found this hilarious video today and thoroughly enjoyed watching it....thought you all might enjoy it too! Happy Easter to everyone....I will post a trip update with pictures in the next couple of days....

Getting Life in Order.....

Okay...I have mentioned it before on this blog.... my sincere desire and need to lose weight and get into better shape. I started a weight loss blog (which I never update), I started running...even ran my first race. Entered an even bigger race which I was forced to back out of due to back problems. Right. Well, here I am a few months later, back where I started. Isn't it funny (not really) how easily we fall back into bad habits? I guess that is part of being human....falling down, getting back up, and pressing forward. So, now I am pressing forward again. I have gotten up and brushed myself off and am ready to tackle the problem.....again. Denver and I have started a training program today. It is to get us prepared for a half marathon on November 15. I know, sounds crazy right? Seriously, I don't understand my need to do this....I just know that I need to. I had been toying with this race for a few months. It is in beautiful Monterey, California...you know how much I LOVE that place! Can you just imagine running around that town right along the ocean! Who needs an ipod with that atmosphere! Anyway...like I said I was just toying with it. Unfortunately I mentioned it to an old friend of mine who lives back east. Well, she wrote me and "challenged" me to run it with her. There are a lot of reasons why I didn't want to do it at first but in the end, I think that it will not only be good for my body but also good for my soul to reconnect with this particular person....(long story and personal)....so I'm gonna do it. Denver may do it too but he is definitely going to train with me even if he doesn't race. So there it is. I'm excited about it....scared too. You can see from the map that it runs right along the coast....gorgeous! The big pink spot in the middle of the map represents the Presidio of Monterey where I spent a year and a half studying Korean in the Air Force. And, in the upper left, just to the side of big "N" for north, you will see a little jut of land that sticks out....that is Lovers Point where Denver and I got married 11 years ago! This place is very sentimental to me and I would love to run this race for that reason alone! Next item of business that I need to tackle is to get my food storage going. It is really sad how little I have in my food storage pantry. With the economy as bad as it is and the likelihood that it will get a lot worse, I feel that I really need to step this up. Problem being....how do you afford to do it? We live on a pretty tight budget as it is and I just don't see where we will have extra money to do it. When I lived in Arizona, I participated in a thing called "Coupon Sense"...some of you may know about it. My cousin introduced me to it. It was a lot of fun and I saved SO much money it was ridiculous sometimes. However, we moved to Kentucky and then back to Utah and frankly I just haven't given it another thought until now. The other day I had a girl from my church color my hair...she happened to mention "Grocery Smarts".....almost the same thing as Coupon Sense only a lot cheaper. The only cost is the subscription to the newspaper to get the coupons! I looked it up and am VERY excited about it. So, now I am going to be an expert shopper and by the end of the year I should have a very sufficient food storage for my family! In a few months I will update with how well this program works...or not.

Finally, I am getting my photos organized. How many of you have all of your pictures just sitting in a box...or multiple boxes? I've always had good intentions of making wonderful scrapbooks.....I even tried scrapbooking once. Who am I kidding! Scrapbooking is definitely not my cup of tea. Some women are wonderful at it. Not this woman! So, my pictures are still just sitting in boxes and now with digital cameras I have hundreds and hundreds of pictures sitting in "virtual boxes"..... all in files and taking up valuable GB's of computer space. The other day I bought one of these removable flash drives that you stick into a USB port so you can easily transfer files from one computer to another. Its a great thing because I put all of my picture files onto it and deleted them from the computer which has really sped up my computer. Only problem now is that I am super paranoid about something happening to this little device. If it gets damaged somehow, I would lose years of priceless photographs of my family. It would be devastating. So what is the solution? Any great ideas out there on how to preserve your pictures without the risk of loss? CD's can be broken....computers can crash.....actual printed pictures can burn or be ruined in others ways.... the whole thing is really stressing me out. I think I still would like to print out all of the pictures and at the very least put them into photo albums...then maybe I will make a CD too as well as keep the pictures on the removable flash drive. Geez....it sounds like overkill. Anyway, this is my next project....getting all of this in order. Wish me luck and please, send suggestions or opinions!

If You Knew Ian.....

....then you would know that this picture did not need any explanation. Apparently the Chess Instructor felt that she should explain the picture for fear that someone might misinterpret what Ian was doing..... She posts pictures of Chess club each week on Picassa and has NEVER written personal comments about any of them but this week I saw that one of them had a comment and when I clicked on it, this is the picture that came up.....

Her comment read: ( "he is not really yelling at his partner, just pretending..." ) Thanks for clearing that up....as if Ian would ever actually yell at his partner LOL!!!!

Evan made me feel pretty important today and a little sad at the same time. His class went on a field trip to the zoo and he had asked me a couple of weeks ago if I would come and help by being a chaperone. Unfortunately I cant really do stuff like that very often because I have Addison and Soren at home with me and normally they dont allow the chaperones to bring siblings. Anyway, today when I picked him up from school I asked him if he had fun at the zoo and he looked a little sad and shook his head. I asked him what was wrong and he said "it wasnt fun because you werent there." Awwwww.....I feel badly that I couldnt go but am very appreciative that he missed me so much. Here is one of my favorite pictures of Evan. He was so excited to play baseball the first time. The shirt drowned him and his little ears poking out of his hat....love it. Evan is a mischief maker and sometimes Im not quite sure what to do with him but I sure love him! He has had to learn a couple of hard lessons this week....hopefully its the last time we will have to deal with that type of thing.

Ok I found these funny videos that I took at Scott and Stacys house the week we were in Kentucky for Don's funeral. They have a playstation with the game called "Singstar"...its hilarious to watch these kids sing. I think Ian thought he was live on "American Idol" or something...I was cracking up. Unfortunately I filmed it with my camera so it is sideways...sorry:

That took way too long to load...Im going to post the other one of Evan singing on Facebook so if you are my friend on Facebook you can check it out there. Evan's rockin version of Daniel Powters "had a bad day"....he took it very seriously too :) I love my boys.

Addie, Addie, Addie.....I could fill up 3 pages of stories about this little one. Lets just say that most of the time she is convinced that she is the only child that exists in my world. Or maybe its that she wishes she was. She is all over the place with her song and dance....and she loves to show off. Oh and she really hates wearing clothing. She strips down whenever she can...she even tried to remove her clothes on the airplane recently. She has decided that she is in charge of her cousin Soren. She lets me know when its time to feed him, change him, and she is especially vigilant when it comes time for him to take his nap. Sometimes she will announce that it is nap time for Soren within 5 minutes of him arriving in the morning. She has kindly taught Soren how to NOT share, and how to scream when things are taken from him. In spite of all of these "lessons"....she loves him and kisses him all day long. We enjoy having Soren at our house...he is so dang cute. Saying words left and right and when he gets excited he just blurts out all the words he knows in random order....cracks me up. Just be careful when he says "eye" because he will literally jab your eye out trying to show you!

Denver and I are both enjoying the fact that I havent had to go to work this past week. It is nice being home together and helping each other with dinner, homework, baths...etc. Normally the only night we have together is Thursday nights between my work and his school. I guess we will just enjoy it while it lasts because I have to find another job soon. We are excited to report that due to errors by others and not us for a change one of our debts is going to be reduced by almost $6000 ! How great is that! Its nice to have it work in our favor for a change..... Im sure there will be others that wont be so happy about it but, it is what it is..... Here is a picture of us that I found and I am posting against my better judgement.... Just ignore my triple chin...and the stain on my shirt.... I just love how we are so comfortable and happy, swinging on the porch swing in Kentucky last summer with our little girl.